Pump packing



Sept. 11, 1934. o. J. THOMPSON El AL PUMP PACKING O. J THOMPSON AND JOHN C H5552 9 @mmvf pt- 1934- 0. J. THOMPSON El AL 1,973,585

PUMP PACKING Filed May 10. 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 495. Eigfl. 25.12.

0.1T. THOMPSON (JOHN C. H5552 Patented Sept. 11, 1934 lin, Pa., assignors to Charles Hough -Man ufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 10, 1933, Serial No. 670,378 4 Claims (C l.'309-23) The invention forming the subject matter of this application is an improvement on-the pump packing disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.V1,454,4O and No. 1,559,766; and, isparticu- ,5 larly designed for use as a packing for pumps used in oil wells and other deep wells of the typein which the cylinder or traveling barrel moves with relation to the plunger during the operation of the pump, or type of pump in which the cylinder or barrel is stationary and the valve moves during the operation of the pump.

Heretofore, it has been necessary to retain the packing position on the plunger fitting .by means of a spring in order to compensate for wear and to maintain a fluid tight joint between the traveling barrel and the plungerfitting of the pump; One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a packing and means for mount ing the same on the plunger, whereby the. afore- 20 said spring may be eliminated.

- In'the priorpatents aforesaid, the plunger fitting quite frequently became stuck or bound due to the end or ends:of the packing becoming free from the packing follower or packing nut. Itis anotherobject therefore of the present invention to provide a packing in which the endsare so secured in followers on the plunger fitting as to obviate the possibility of their working loose and causing a binding or sticking of the plunger fitting. r I

' A further object'of the invention is to provide a packing unit which can be manufactured and assembled.- apart from the plunger fitting and which can therefore be very quickly mounted on and removed-from the plunger fitting whenever it becomes necessary or desirable todo so. ,7

Another object of the invention is to'provide a packing of thetype described in which the coils thereof ,aredesigned, during the operation of the pump, to be somewhat separated so as to avoid hardening or solidification of the various coils intoacomparatively hard mass. 3; Other objects of the invention will'become apparent as the detaileddescriptionthereof-pro ceeds.,,, j, In the drawings: l I :Figure 1 is; a vertical sectionalelevationalview of a part-of a. deep well pump illustratingatraveling barrel and the associated plunger -with' the improved packing assembly;- 7 V H "Figure 2 is'a central vertical sectional view through'the improvedpacking unit as applied to the plunger fitting; f H Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectionatoan enlarged scale, illustrating the method ofisecuring the ends of the packing incollarsforming parts of the packing unit; v

Figure A is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4- 1 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary'perspective view of one end of the packing coil forming part of this invention; v v

Figure 6 is a central vertical sectional view through a modification of the packing unit illustrated in Figure 2; h V a V Figure '7 is aperspective view of one of a pair of collars in which the opposite ends of the packingaresecured; V i

Figure 8 is a central transverse vertical sectional view through another modification of the collars connected to the opposite ends of the packvms; v r Figure'9 is a bottom plan view of thecollar illu e e n i ur 8;

Figure 10 is an elevationalview of still another modified form of collar; v

.Figure' ll is a bottom plan view of the collar shownin Figure 10;

.Figure: l2lis a vertical transverse sectional view oflone of thezelements of a collar constituting further modification of the invention r T Figure 13 is a perspective view of the other element of the securing collar forming part of the modification shown in Figure 12; and h I Figure 14 is aview partly in section showing the two. elements shown in Figures 12 and 13 in assembled relation with one end 'of the packing.

In the drawings, the plungerfitting P is illustrated as comprisinga tubular body 1 connected to the lower parts of the plunger fitting bya nut 2. The upper part of the tubular body 1 is screwthreaded for connection to a head 3 which. is adapted to fit closely and slidably. within the inner surface of the barrel B. l V

. -The packing coil 4 comprises a helically wound coil having its-opposite ends fixedly secured to and insertedin collars ;5 and 6, It Wl11-,bB observed from Figures l r and 2 of the drawing that the packing coil 4 with thecollars 5 and 6- connected thereto do not completely fill the space between the top of the nut 2 and the bottom of the head 3,.but that sufficientspace is allowed for any axial expansion which might take place in the packing :In the operationvof the packing, the traveling barrel, by frictional engagement duringits downward movement, slides the packing unit asa whole against the top: of the nut 2 so that it forms a and the force of liquid acting on the lower collar forces the packing unit into contact with the lower end of the head 3 and thereby insures a tight fit between the plunger fitting and the travcling barrel. During these reciprocal movements, the coils of the unit separate slightly from each other, thereby. eliminating any-tendency of the coil as a whole to become hardened into a substantially compact solid mass, which would even of the unit can be wound on a mandrel and con nested-to the collars 5 and 6 independently of the tube body 1;"an'd thus can be manufactured in quantities very cheaply in such form that they canbe, as separate units, quickly applied to" or removed from the tube body of the plunger fitting of the type-referred to. I i

"In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the opposite ends of the packing coil 4 are reduced in thickness sufficiently to adapt said ends for-ready insertion in cylindrical recesses 7 and 8 formed in the collars 5 and 6, respectively; Since these collars are identical in construction, it will be sufiicient to describethe method of securing the upper end of the coil 4 in I the collar 5.

. sertion in the recess '7. The outer wall of the the type referred to.

recessed part of the collar 5 is provided with a plurality of apertures 10; and, after the flattened end of the coil 9'has been positioned in the recess '7, molten metal is poured into this recess through any of the apertures 10 until the recess becomes filledand the molten metal protrudes through the apertures 10. v

The parts of the metal which protrude through the apertures 10 may then be filed off smooth with the periphery of the collar 5. After the metal cools in the recess, it forms a means for rigidly securing the end of the packing coil to thecollar against both axial and twisting movements in the collar. In effect, the metallic pro- 'trusions through the apertures" 10' constitute dowels to prevent both axial and rotary movement of the flattened end of the coil in the collar 5. It will, of course, beunderstood that the molten metal flows into the joints between the several flattened convolutions of the coil arranged in the recess 7-. It will be apparent that by this construction, with the main 'body'of the coil suitably wound on amandrel and having its ends rigidly secured to the collars 5 and 6, the

packing as a unit may be readilyassembled on a tube body-1 of the plunger fitting P in pumps of In the modification shown in Figure 6, the packing 4 is illustrated as coiled aroundthe cylindrical member or tube body 1. The ends of the packing are "flattened out substantially as shown Figure 5 of the drawings. The fiattened ends of the packing 4 are inserted the. collars 11 and 12. Since'these collars are identical, the method of securing one end of the coil in the collar 11 will be-described, with the understanding that a similar method of securing the other end of the coil is used in connection with the collar 12.

The collar 11 is shaped to form a cylinder 13 adapted to fit with snug sliding fit on the tube body 1. One end of the cylinder 13 is connected by an annulus 14 to an outer cylindrical part 15 concentric with the cylinder 13. The flattened end of the packing coil 4 is inserted in the annular space 16 between the cylinders 13 and 15.

After insertion in this space 16, the flattened end-of the packing is compressed and held securely in the collar 11 by compressing the outer cylinder 15 to form the inwardly projecting ribs which bite into and securely hold the inserted flattened end of the coil 4 in the collar. By this construction, the necessity for pouring in molten metal, or otherwise securing the coil to the collars. 11 and 12, is eliminated.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 8-and- 9, eachof thecollars 18 is made in'two parts. -One part is shaped-as a cylinder 19 adapted to slide with snug sliding fit on the tube body 1. The cylinder 19 forms a bushing foran outer cylindrical member 20 which is provided with an internally screwthreaded annular recess 21, in which the flattened end of the packing 4 maybe inserted and held by twisting or screwing the collar onto said flattened end. It is evident that the screwthreads in this construction serve to hold the ends of the packing securely in each collar.

Another form of the invention is illustrated in Figures 10 and 11. In this form, each of the collars 22 is made in, one piece. The inner face 23 of the collar is cylindrical and is of substantiallly the same diameter as that of the tube body 1 so that the collar 22 may slide snugly and freely on the tube body 1. A cylindrical recess 24 is formed through one end of the collar 22. The upper end of the coil 4 is flattened, as shown in-Figure 5, and is pressed into the recess 24. To prevent the end of the packing becoming displaced on this collar, the outer rim of the collar is rolled or crimped inwardly to form a species of a regularly shaped flange 25 which maintains the flattened end of the packing in the recess. The crimped in flange 25 is shaped to follow or conform to the angle of pitch of the helix formed by the coil.

' In' the last form of the invention, the collar 26 is made in two parts. The outer part comprises a cylinder 27 adapted to slide with snug sliding fit on the tube body 1. The cylinder 27 is countersunk to form a recess 28 adapted toreceive a cylindrical'plug 29 having an inner cylindrical surface 30 of the same diameter as the tube body 1;' The surface 30 is designed to lie flush with the surface 31 of the cylinder 27. The plug 29 has a deep outwardly projecting flange 31" formed thereon. This flange is cut axially of the plug 29 to form two recesses 32 and 33. In connecting the coil 4 to these collars 29, the upperend of the coil is preferablyflattened sufliciently to substantially fill the recesses 32 and 33. The upper flattened end of the coil 4 is then bentininverted U-shape in the recesses 32 and 33 and over the shoulder 34 of that part of the flange 31' which lies between said recesses The plug- 29, with the end of the coil inserted therein, as shown in-Figure 14, is forced underpressure into the recess 28 of the cylindrical-member-27thereby holding the end of the coil securely to the collars 29.

' In effect it will-be noted that thenut 2 and head 3 constitute a pair of stops spaced apart along and fixed to the tube body 1. The packing unit including the coil and the collars fixed to the opposite ends thereof is capable of expansion axially and also of a limited movement as a whole between these stops. In this particular respect, the present invention difiers from everything of this character in the prior art.

While we have described our invention as embodied in concrete form and as operating in a specific manner in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, it should be understood that we do not limit our invention thereto, since various modifications thereof will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a pump, a tube body, a pair of stops fixed to and spaced apart along said body, a packing unit reciprocable on said tube body between said stops, and comprising a pair of collars slidable along said tube body between said stops, and a strip of packing coiled around said tube between said collars and having its opposite ends fixed to said collars.

2. A packing unit for pumps comprising: a pair of cylindrical collars having the same internal and external diameters, each of said collars having recesses formed between their internal and external surfaces, a strip of packing material wound as a helix of the same internal diameter as that of the collars, and having its opposite ends in the recesses of said collars, said collars having a plurality of apertures bored through their outer surfaces to communicate with said recesses, and means for filling the spaces in said recesses around the ends of the packing inserted therein, said means being poured into said recesses in plastic form to harden therein and protrude through said apertures.

3. A packing unit for pumps comprising: a pair of cylindrical collars having the same internal and external diameters, each of said 001- lars having recesses formed between their internal and external surfaces, a strip of packing material wound as a helix of the same internal diameter as that of the collars, said strip having its opposite ends flattened and also wound as a helix in said recesses, each of said collars having its outer edge bent to form a flange projecting inwardly between adjacent convolutions of the helix for securing said ends in their recesses.

4. A packing unit for pumps comprising: a pair of cylindrical collars having the same internal and external diameters, each of said collars comprising an outer cylindrical member having a cylindrical recess coaxially formed therein, a cylindrical plug, having the same internal diameter as said outer member and having a flange extending laterally therefrom and seated with pressed fit in said recess, said flange having slots extending parallel to the axis of the plug, a strip of packing material wound as a helix and having its opposite ends of inverted U-shape, the legs of said inverted U-shaped ends being seated in said slots and clamped securely in the recess formed in said outer member.

ORVCIZLLE J. THOIVIPSON. JOHN C. HEBER. 

